Chapter 55: The Special Six Pathways

Chapter 55: The Special Six Pathways

The Fool Klein slowly looked around the table. Contrary to everyone’s expectations, he did not explain. Instead, he put away his sigh and asked with a smile,

“Where do you think the twenty-two Beyonder pathways come from?”

This was one of the three most fundamental questions in mysticism, and there had never been a generally accepted answer. Every school had its own theory, and none could convince the others.

The Hermit Cattleya considered briefly before answering,

“The essence of the world is knowledge. The essence of knowledge is number. Humans are numbers. The Beyonder characteristics of the twenty-two pathways are also numbers. All things are numbers, and they have been so since birth.”

What she gave was the theory of the Moses Ascetic Order, but that did not mean it was her own view.

“The seven major Churches all believe that Beyonder characteristics originated from the original Creator, who transformed into all things, including gods, humans, the sea, the land, and Beyonder characteristics,” The Star Leonard described simply. “Of course, this explanation is given only to deacons and above. Official Beyonders below Sequence 6 do not need to know that much.”

Then he glanced at The Moon Emlyn and said,

“The Life School of Thought believes that the world is divided into three layers: the material world, the spirit world, and the world of absolute rationality. Beyonder characteristics are projections of certain things from the world of absolute rationality into the material world and the spirit world. Therefore, characteristics are indestructible; they only recombine.”

From the current perspective, the absolute rationality world preached by the Life School of Thought may refer to something represented by that “river of fate”… The Fool Klein thought of Will Auceptin, yet he remained silent and did not interrupt the exchange between the Tarot Club members.

The Moon Emlyn looked back at The Star and said,

“As one of the rulers of the Second Epoch, we sanguine believe that Beyonder characteristics indeed came from the original Creator. Then, different characteristics accumulated, giving birth to the ancient gods, who then created different races.”

This was the sanguine’s explanation for the First Epoch. The Moon Emlyn himself already had a certain degree of doubt about it, because he had come into contact with many secrets during the Tarot Gatherings.

The Hanged Man Alger nodded slightly.

“Although there are many explanations for the origin of Beyonder characteristics, most point toward the original Creator. The orthodox Churches are like this, the Aurora Order is like this, and the City of Silver is also like this.”

“In other words, it is a relatively consistent understanding that Beyonder characteristics came from the original Creator?” Justice Audrey asked thoughtfully.

The Psychology Alchemists primarily studied the mind world and the sea of collective subconsciousness. They lacked a complete theoretical explanation for the origin of Beyonder characteristics.

“That is more or less the case.” The Hanged Man Alger did not conceal his own view.

At that moment, The Fool Klein spoke with a hint of a sigh.

“Not all of them.”

He did not give a long discourse, but merely offered a relatively vague answer.

Not all… Does Mr. Fool mean that Beyonder characteristics did indeed originate from the original Creator, but not all of them, and that a small portion are exceptions? Is this the reason the Planter and Moon pathways are special? The Hanged Man Alger instantly thought of many things, grasping the essence of the problem at once.

Since the matter had nothing to do with her, The Magician Fors had been listening leisurely from the side. Now, feeling rather curious, she asked,

“Honorable Mr. Fool, your meaning seems to be that the vast majority of Beyonder characteristics came from the original Creator, but the Planter and Moon pathways are exceptions. Then where did they come from?”

The Fool Klein answered quite simply,

“The starry sky.”

“The starry sky”… The Moon Emlyn shivered inwardly, suddenly realizing that the matter might be far more serious than he had imagined.

The Tarot Club had already shared knowledge of underground corruption and the danger of the starry sky. Every member knew that merely understanding these two concepts could bring corrosion.

As Justice Audrey, The Hermit Cattleya, and the others looked at one another, The Fool Klein maintained that slightly sighing tone and added another sentence:

“Not only those two.”

He had maintained communication with the Seven Lights all along and had already confirmed that among the twenty-two Beyonder pathways, six belonged to Outer Deities.

“Honorable Mr. Fool, which other pathways come from the starry sky?” Justice Audrey habitually raised her hand and asked, both guarded and curious.

The Fool Klein replied concisely,

“Prisoner, Criminal, Lawyer, and Arbiter.”

The first two originated from the Mother Tree of Desire, while the latter two and the Nation of Disorder all came from the Son of Chaos.

—Chaos gave birth to order, and order carried its own shadow.

“Arbiter…” The Magician Fors turned her head in astonishment and looked at Judgment Xio.

She had just thought this matter had nothing to do with her, that she could merely watch without worrying. Who would have known the fire would suddenly burn right up to her doorstep?

Judgment Xio frowned slightly and looked toward the head of the bronze long table.

“Honorable Mr. Fool, I usually do not feel anything abnormal, nor have I ever received any divine revelation—well, apart from Yours.”

The Fool Klein smiled.

“Arbiter and Lawyer are relatively better.”

As far as he understood, the Son of Chaos did not have a deep influence over the Arbiter and Lawyer pathways. It was completely incomparable to the Mother Goddess of Depravity’s influence over Moon and Planter, or the Mother Tree of Desire’s influence over Criminal and Prisoner. This Outer Deity was so quiet it was almost as if He had gone missing.

The Magician Fors and Judgment Xio secretly breathed sighs of relief, while also gaining a little more wariness toward the future.

Seeing that Mr. Fool did not elaborate further, The Moon Emlyn organized his thoughts and said,

“The special nature of the Planter and Moon pathways comes from the starry sky. The divine revelations sensed are very likely a form of corruption?”

The Hanged Man Alger glanced at Mr. Fool at the head of the mottled long table. Seeing that He had no intention of speaking, Alger nodded.

“That is probably the case.”

This is a test for me… The Moon Emlyn sighed inwardly and then said,

“I have already learned the names of the high-Sequence potions for the Planter and Moon pathways. There are two of them that I do not understand very well.”

Seeing the other Tarot Club members look over, and The World Gehrman Sparrow even raise a hand to pinch his chin, Emlyn considered his words and said,

“Sequence 3 of the Moon pathway is called Summoning Master, Sequence 2 is called Creator, and Sequence 1 is called Beauty Goddess. Sequence 3 of the Planter pathway is called Ferryman, Sequence 2 is called Desolate Matriarch, and Sequence 1 is called Naturewalker.

“What I do not understand is that the potion names Beauty Goddess and Desolate Matriarch both carry a certain gender orientation. What do you think?”

“…” For a moment, none of the other Tarot Club members spoke. They looked at one another and successively thought of a possibility.

After several seconds, Justice Audrey controlled her gaze and chose her tone carefully.

“I remember that Sequence 7 of the Assassin pathway is called Witch, and all Assassins who consume that potion end up becoming witches.”

…This is a test for me… Emlyn’s lips moved slightly, but he could not speak.

When he had seen the potion names, he had actually already had a certain premonition. He was simply unwilling to accept it and hoped he could receive a different explanation at the Tarot Gathering.

Relax. There’s a high probability you won’t become an angel. Even if you truly could, you probably wouldn’t have a chance to become a Beauty Goddess… Klein muttered inwardly, but did not speak those “comforting” words aloud.

The scene was silent for a while. The Star Leonard coughed and took the initiative to speak.

“I will share some information.”

At an unhurried pace, he described the wandering magician Merlin Hermes, Constant City being rebuilt overnight, the Fully Automatic Wish Machine, and similar matters.

While speaking, he made no attempt to hide his glance toward The World Klein.

The corners of Klein’s mouth moved slightly. He had The World Gehrman Sparrow look straight ahead and say,

“I will be leaving the eastern Midsea coast soon.”

Eh… All of that was done by Mr. World? He can already create miracles like that? As expected of an angel, as expected of Him… Justice Audrey recalled the intelligence shared by Mr. Gluttony, a councilor of the Psychology Alchemists, and for a moment felt both astonished and admiring.

She did not use her Spectator abilities to conceal that reaction, because everyone displayed similar emotions—apart from Mr. Star, who clearly already knew.

Merlin Hermes… wandering magician… The Magician Fors wrote the name down in the small notebook in her heart, secretly deciding that if she ever heard this name in the future, she would keep as much distance as possible.

This was not to say that she still feared Gehrman Sparrow that much. Rather, she had recognized one point:

Around Gehrman Sparrow, there would absolutely never be peace. There would always be one thing or another happening.

Of course, a little instinctive fear was still unavoidable, like a “fear” planted in childhood that still remained after growing up.

Delighting in fulfilling wishes… the Fully Automatic Wish Machine… Is this The World Gehrman Sparrow’s acting? The Hanged Man Alger and The Hermit Cattleya had similar thoughts flash through their minds, then simultaneously connected them to another matter:

Starting some time ago, Mr. Fool had asked them to put forward requests in the form of wishes when praying, and He fulfilled them.

Is He helping The World digest his potion, or do He and The World belong to the same pathway, so after His revival, He also displays similar traits? Little Sun once said that Mr. Fool displayed a miracle, directly moving the people of one city from the Forsaken Land of the Gods to outside Bayam… Since The World Gehrman Sparrow is still acting, that should not be something he can accomplish… The Hanged Man Alger nodded almost imperceptibly and formed a certain conjecture regarding the pathway Mr. Fool belonged to.

He’ll soon leave the eastern Midsea coast? Then my investigation will be much easier. I can just make up a conclusion. At worst, I’ll write directly that Gehrman Sparrow has become a Miracle Invoker and is acting… In any case, everyone who should know already knows… Leonard muttered silently, asking no further questions.

At that moment, The World Gehrman Sparrow looked around and asked,

“What do you know about the Black Throne King, Barrows Hopkins?”